Mirror, Mirror
by ancientgreekfreak
Summary: In which a very confused Milah falls through a mirror on the Jolly Roger, and into modern-day Storybrooke. Rumbelle, Captain Swan, an angry Nealfire ensue.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Happy hiatus, everybody! Oh, wait, you all don't enjoy immense amounts of pain and OUAT withdrawal? My bad! I guess it's not a very happy hiatus after all…Anyway, you know what they say, "A fanfic a day keeps the painful feels away!" (or something like that). In any case, I don't own OUAT because I am incapable of the cruelty and the genius that are Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. **

**P.S.-bonus points to those who get the literary reference in the first sentence!**

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a 'peaceful day in Storybrooke' never truly ends up being peaceful. Our story, however, begins some three hundred years with Milah standing in the Captain's quarters of the Jolly Roger, contemplating a mirror she had recently purchased on her and Killian's travels. It was worn yet ornate, crafted of what appeared to be mahogany, and if the shopkeeper was to be believed, imbued with magical qualities. What these qualities were, exactly, neither she nor the shopkeeper were exactly sure, and Milah doubted that they even existed, and the seller had simply been looking for an increased retail price. The mirror did, however, fit in quite nicely with Killian's décor, and the asking price was not ludicrous, so she went ahead and made the purchase regardless. As she stood admiringly in front of the mirror, the sun rose to its peak at high noon, and a particularly rough wave happened to send her flying into said mirror.

In present day Storybrooke, the mirror sat quietly in the back corner of Mr. Gold's pawn shop, as it had for the past thirty years and counting. Killian had sold it in one of his moods many years earlier; in his anger over Milah's death and lack of success in killing his crocodile, he had sold many of the trinkets Milah had bought over the years to random dealers in exchange for rum. Rumplestiltskin bought the mirror, having heard of the mirror and its rumored magical properties, but not long after, he met Belle and the mirror lay in a corner of Dark Castle, completely forgotten.

Until, of course, Milah came flying through the mirror and into Mr. Gold's shop. Rumple was manning the front desk and Belle was keeping him company, sitting next to the cash register and swinging her legs back and forth, chatting away about the latest book she had read. When they heard the monumental crash coming from the back room, they both froze abruptly, and watched as Milah stumbled into the room. "What-" she began, however, upon catching sight of Rumplestiltskin, she went as stiff as a board. Her eyes filled with malice and her nose turned up in the air. "What are _you_ doing here, _coward_?" she sneered, not appearing to be cognizant of the fact that Rumple appeared much different from the coward husband she had once known.

Mr. Gold liked to think that he was a reasonable man-being reunited with his beloved Belle had certainly done wonders for his temperament, as had being given a chance at redemption with Baelfire. Nevertheless, when he saw his ex-wife, whose heart he had _ripped out and crushed_, no less, calling him a coward, he felt the urge to do it again, redemption be damned. And from the look of fury descending upon Belle's angelic face, she wasn't going to be the one to hold him back.

In fact, it was Belle who stormed in front of him and began yelling, "Who _exactly_-" Rumple, surprisingly, put a calming hand on her elbow, "Belle, sweetheart," he murmured into her ear, in an attempt to quell her righteous rage. Belle, however, would not be deterred. "Who is this woman Rumple?!" she seethed, furious at the thought that after all Rumple had done in the name of redemption, this woman had the audacity to throw the word 'coward' in his face. With a rather resigned expression on his face, Rumple said, "Belle, this is Milah…my _ex-_wife."

Meanwhile, on the Jolly Roger, Killian Jones, better known in days gone by as Captain Hook, paced up and down the decks with enough force to make the heavily laden table beside him shudder. '_Everything must be perfect. Everything must be perfect,'_ he mentally chanted as though it were a mantra. He wrung both his hands (oh, yes, he had gotten his hand back from Rumplestiltskin and Belle on one of Belle's 'redemption' missions-but that is a story for another time), and counted down the minutes until _she_ would arrive.

"Killian, where are you?!" he heard her voice calling out, and he stopped pacing abruptly. "In the back, love!" he yelled out, and in a moment she appeared before him. _Emma Swan._ She was brave, she was intelligent, and she was _his_, for the rest of their lives, if she'd have him. Well, the matter of the rest of their lives would be settled, at any rate, if all went as planned. "After you, milady," he said, pulling out her chair at the table with a flourish and gesturing for her to sit. Emma raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly at his chivalry, as she always did.

She slid into her chair, as did he, and let the conversation flow as they enjoyed Granny's scrumptious creations. He asked how Henry's day was, she replied with a quip about how he'd be better if he hadn't taken 'Flirting 101' from Killian, as she was sure Jefferson was about to hunt the kid down any day now, and their easy flow of chatter continued in this manner. His plan was working well, Killian thought, as Emma appeared to have no idea that there was a black velvet box in his pocket seemingly burning a hole through his jacket.

(In order to spare Mr. Gold any further discomfort, we should probably re-direct our attention towards him)

At the mention of Milah, Belle's face became even redder, because this was the woman who had convinced _her _Rumple that he was a worthless coward, that he needed to drown himself in the darkness in order to mean anything, and wait—"Isn't she _dead_?" she hissed into Rumple's ear. Before he had a chance to respond, Milah herself cut in. "You've told her who _ I _ am, but I do not believe I have had the pleasure of making her acquaintance," she practically sneered, disgusted that a girl who could so obviously do better in life was standing up for such a sniveling coward. "Milah, this is Belle, my _wife_" Rumple introduced, shockingly appearing to be the only one in the room capable of keeping his cool. Perhaps he and Belle were more similar than they cared to admit when someone threatened or ridiculed their true love. Milah laughed disbelievingly, as though the idea of a girl as beautiful as Belle loving a man like Rumple was ludicrous.

Before Belle could respond to the woman, Milah scoffed, "No matter, it is of little to no consequence to me if you choose to waste your life with _him_. However, I must inquire as to where there is a dock in this….where am I?" Rumplestiltskin replied with barely concealed distemper, "Storybrooke. You are in Storybrooke, Maine, although I imagine that means very little to you…The docks are in _that_ direction," he said, motioning with his hand, "but I do believe…" Milah didn't even let him finish his warning before she swept out of the shop.

It took asking a few people for directions along the way, but Milah eventually managed to make it to the docks. A grin split across her face as she saw the Jolly Roger sitting in the port, and was about to begin wondering how the hell the ship could be sitting in the port when she'd been on it a few hours ago, when she heard Killian's voice. He sounded just as he had that morning, deep and seductive, and if she strained her ears, she could just make out what he was saying. "I know that we've only been together for five hundred and ninety-seven days, love, but they have genuinely been the best five hundred and ninety-seven days of my live. Would you make this the happiest one of the lot by agreeing to be my wife?" Milah didn't have to strain her ears at all to hear the resounding screams of "YES!" throughout the ship. She moved closer in time to see him sliding a ring onto the girl's finger. As they leaned in to kiss, she decided she'd seen enough and screeched, "KILLAN!"

**A/N: Not sure if that was even a legit cliffhanger…oh, well better luck next chapter. Anyway, the next bit is going to be a little tedious so you don't really need to read it unless you want justification for the actions of the characters. Mr. Gold: His lack of vengeance may be a bit surprising, but I truly think that after two years with Belle, and getting another chance with Baelfire, his resentment towards Milah has probably decreased, because he probably never would have met Belle if Milah hadn't left. Belle: Belle, however, knows Milah as the woman who bent and broke her true love, and made him feel worthless and cowardly, so she probably wouldn't be so forgiving. We've never seen too much of furious Belle, but if someone like Milah were to appear, I think we'd see the more aggressive, protective side of her, because it's definitely there. Milah: She has no idea where she is, and she doesn't know Rumple is the Dark One, so her rude levels are definitely going to be sky high, as both a defense mechanism against her confusion and genuine disdain for Rumple. Killian: Yeaaaah, I gave him back his hand. I just think that it's something Belle would like Rumple to do, and also something that Rumple would do to pay back the debt he owes Killian for saving Henry. And yeah, Killian and Emma have been going out for a little over two years now. I didn't really focus on the actual proposal so much as Killian's feelings for Emma, because that's more or less the main point. So, yeah bonus points to those who made it all the way through this massive author's note. Review por favor!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for all the follow, faves, and reviews! They definitely made my day(s)! Not even joking, every time I got an email alert about a new follower, fave, or review, I wiped the tears off my face dramatically and loudly thanked the academy. The problem occurred when I was in school…Anyway, on a more serious-ish note (yes, you may skip ahead if you wish), but I'd like to address any issues towards the characterization of Milah. Yes, I realize that she seems a bit immature in her reactions towards her surroundings, but I haven't seen anything of her on the show that would indicate that she was mature at all. She didn't seem to care about anything other than herself and her immediate gratification. Oh, and just for clarification, she doesn't know she's three hundred years in the future…yet. MWAHAHAHA. So, as I sit here pretending to write my reflection paper (oh, the joys of IB) I bring you…the second chapter. OH BTDUBS I DON'T OWN THESE CHARACTERS AND ALL THAT.**

Killian's face instantly drained of all color, and he quite resembled the ghost he thought he was seeing. "Killian, what is _going on?!_" Milah demanded, while Killian merely stumbled back in response, and Emma stiffened, having recognized the woman as Milah from the sketch Killian had shown her. She, of course, did not believe that it was truly Milah standing before Killian and herself, however, if for no other reason than the fact that this woman had been dead for _three hundred years_ (and if that wasn't a reason to doubt a person's existence, then Emma didn't know what was). Within a few moments, Killian had recovered an iota of his brain function from the immediate shock, and was thinking along the same lines as Emma; this woman claiming to be Milah had to be an apparition, now if only he could figure out how she had come to take this particular form. It couldn't be a siren, for he was sure that the bloody devil would take the form of Emma…wouldn't it?

Emma continued to stare at the woman claiming to be Milah, looking for the telltale signs of a lie: fidgeting, dilated pupils, an abnormally high pitched voice, frequent swallowing, but could find no traces that indicated that the woman in front of her was lying. _Could she be telling the truth? But that was impossible. Milah had been dead for somewhere in the ballpark of three hundred years! God, I…_ Emma was pulled out of her thoughts to see Killian stepping towards the woman claiming to be Milah. Fearing that he was under some trance, Emma grabbed his shoulder and spun him around towards her and pulled so his face was in close proximity with hers. "Killian, what are you doing?!" she hissed, the relief at seeing the lucidity in his eyes quickly being replaced by anger at his (rather characteristic) rashness. "Well, I _was_ trying to get a closer look to see if it is indeed the Milah I was once acquainted with, before you so rudely grabbed me, love," Killian said in injured tones. Emma began to argue, "But you can't just-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Emma was interrupted by Milah herself, _where in the_ _seven hells_ _she was_, and _what in the bloody world was going on._ Emma could only roll her eyes, because if she knew what the hell was going on, this lady would know, too. Whilst Milah was practically shaking with sheer rage, Killian noticed something shiny, swinging around on her chest. _A necklace. _Striding towards Milah, he grabbed the pendant, despite her protests, and turned it around. Surely enough, engraved on the back of it was the name 'Milah,' engraved in script, in the same style as when the same name had been engraved on his wrist after her death. Every detail of the necklace was perfect to his memory, down to the little nick on the side from when she had dashed it to the floor during one of their arguments. _But the necklace had sunk along with Milah's body, in tandem with any knowledge of its existence._ He staggered backwards, the blood draining rapidly out of his face as he realized that the woman before him was truly Milah, brought back to life somehow, standing on his ship in the most inopportune of moments. _Bloody hell._

Emma, in almost that same moment, realized that from the look on Hook's face, and the lack of swords being drawn, that this woman was somehow the real deal_. Fucking Storybrooke. _ She couldn't go a day without a weird quasi-supernatural occurrence, could she?! She was _supposed _to be having hot post-engagement sex with her fiancée right now, but lo and behold she was now stuck dealing with the woman whose death had left Killian heartbroken for three then, a horrible feeling of insecurity began creeping up her spine, only exacerbated by the fact that Milah was placing her hand on Killian's arm, and he wasn't pulling away. _Why wasn't he pulling away?! Did Milah not know that you do not touch that which belongs to Emma Swan!? _

The next words out of Milah's mouth drained all the fight out of Emma: "It doesn't matter who she is Killian, because I'm here now," she practically cooed in Killian's ear. He stood stock-still neither acknowledging nor denying her words, and Emma was instantly thrown back to the memory of having to leave her first foster home. She remembered her foster mother hissing to her foster father about twins on the way, her _real _children, how there simply wouldn't be any space for Emma in the two-bedroom apartment any longer. She remembered her foster father standing stoically, not saying a word in her defense, and the heartbreak as she was forced out of the only home she'd ever known.

Blinking back the tears, she decided that she wouldn't be dragged out again; she was going to leave with her dignity intact this time. With a glare directed at Killian and Milah that transcended words, Emma spun around and marched off the Jolly Rodger and into her Bug, valiantly keeping the tears at bay until she reached her room in Mary-Margaret's old apartment.

Emma marching off his ship brought Killian back from his shock-induced silence, and he groaned at the thought of what had just allowed to occur, the look of pure rage and betrayal etched over Emma's beautiful features rattling him to his core. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the night sky. He would find a way to apologize to Emma later, try to make it up to her for reigniting her insecurities. _Well, that was going to take a damn large gesture._ He would prefer to start his groveling as soon as possible, but, unfortunately, Milah needed a place to stay for the night. So, he led her to Granny's as she protested the entire way because _why couldn't she stay on the Jolly Roger_ and _was it because of the blonde trollop? _ Killian managed to get her there all the same, and gave Granny a generous amount of gold to tend to Milah for the next several days.

Trudging his way to the Jolly Roger, Killian threw his leather jacket off of his shoulders and flung himself onto his bed. He caught a glimpse of the ink on his wrist and instantly knew that he would always be in love with the woman whose name was etched there.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Heeeey guys, long time no see *hides sheepishly*. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR FAB REVIEWS, FAVES, AND FOLLOWS MY FABULOUS DARLINGS. Didn't you all just adore that cliffhanger?! It's just you know, finals, impending college apps, a crazed obsession with Merlin that just slapped me in the face…BUT OMG THE CS KISS! I absolutely freaked out- they just had to ruin it by adding Marian and killing the Outlaw Queen fans. Still, that was a fab finale. Did you guys notice the mirror in Rumple's room of random magical stuff? I saw it, and felt super proud of it. But, whatever, on with the story (whose original characters I probably don't own). **

Killian awoke with a start, as he recalled proposing to Emma, then subsequently the bloody _disaster_ that had followed. He groaned long-sufferingly as he ran a palm down his face because this town just couldn't leave a man alone. It was just his luck that his supposedly dead ex-love from three _hundred_ years ago decided to time travel, of all things, to the eve of his engagement to another woman. Emma had been the only person since Milah that he had truly loved, despite numerous dalliances throughout the centuries. The name tattooed on his wrist proved that, as the enchantment on it allowed the ink to display the name of the person he cared for most. For centuries, it had fueled his sense of loss and his revenge against Rumpelstiltskin.

Unable to lose more time in idle contemplation, he knew that in order to persuade Emma to forgive him, he would need a grand gesture. Not even a mildly grand gesture, such as the ill-fated picnic on the Jolly Roger that he had used for his proposal, but an extravagantly large gesture. Putting his face in his hands, he began to think.

Meanwhile, Emma Swan was taking out her aggression towards her _fucking life _by hacking at things with a sword. Well, technically, the 'sword' was a Wii remote and 'things' were the little animated people on the screen. Nevertheless, beating the living shit out of something was extremely therapeutic to the irate blonde. She could not _believe_ that Killian had just let her leave without a word the moment Milah had set foot on his ship. She had almost fooled herself into thinking that she wasn't the second choice, that she was actually _good enough_. But as soon he was given the chance, the stupid _pirate_ had gone running straight back to his _first love_ (the thought was accompanied by a rather ferocious strike at an unsuspecting Wii avatar).

Then, a thought struck her so abruptly that she dropped her remote, and her avatar was instantly defeated. _Hadn't she done almost the same thing as soon as Neal had been rescued in Neverland? _Killian had promised to fight for her then, and she should be vowing to fight for him now. No matter how many times she had snubbed him, insulted him, and let Neal throw their past relationship in his face, Killian had steadfastly remained at her side, with his smart remarks and suggestive comments when she was in a good mood, and with hot chocolate and a sympathetic ear when she wasn't. Day in and day out, he had proven that he was ready to fight for her, and she had run off at the first sign of trouble. Instantly, the annoying little Killian voice in her head began repeating his favorite proverb: "A man ("or woman," Emma silently corrected him) who doesn't fight for what (s)he wants deserves what (s)he gets." If Killian had taught her one thing over the course of their relationship, it was that they both deserved one another. So she would fight for him.

She slumped onto the sofa behind her, because fighting for your true love was much easier said than done (the fairytales don't mention that do they?). Sure, she _wanted_ to fight for him, but it was the _how _that was eluding her. She supposed that there was no harm in thinking of ways to win Killian back on the sofa, as it was very comfortable, and she had been up most of the previous night being furious with the ridiculousness that had become her life, and how seemingly easy it had been for Killian to ditch her for his supposedly long-dead ex-girlfriend. The lack of sleep combined with her previous fury-fueled physical exertion combined to create a rather effective sleep aid, and she drifted off to sleep.

Emma awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of scratching on the wall on the outside of her apartment building. Since she lived on the third floor of said building, the only way there could be such a sound from that particular location was if someone was trying to scale the wall. Quickly realizing this, she practically fell off of the couch (though she would tell anyone who asked that she had risen gracefully), and stumbled to the window. The sight that greeted her was one she would remember for the rest of her life. Killian was scaling the wall of her building _while holding onto his hook with one hand._ Why he was using his hook instead of his hand, she had no idea, as he appeared to be struggling quite a bit with keeping his grip on both the hook and the wall. She pushed the window open, and within minutes, he was pulling himself into her apartment.

Though the tension between them was palpable, Emma blurted out the first question that came to mind. "Why are you wearing the hook?" she asked, too bewildered to process anything else. "This," Killian said, taking her hand with the hand not currently covered by a hook, "is a symbol of the man that I was when you first tied me to that tree in the Enchanted Forest. It symbolized my hatred, my anger, my emptiness. This hand," he continued, allowing the hook to fall from his hand and clatter to the floor, "is a sign of how much you have changed that man. You made that man whole, Emma Swan, and no amount of women come back from the dead could _ever _change that."

At the end of his speech, Emma launched herself at flummoxed man, who had not expected his speech to be so well received, after the manner in which he had allowed her to leave the previous day. Pulling away from him, Emma laughed (it was more of a giggle, but Emma Swan _doesn't giggle_ if you want to live), and revealed, "I was just about to go apologize to _you." _Truly confused, Killian asked, "Whatever for?" as he saw no reason for Emma to apologize for his callous dismissal of her. Gathering all her courage, Emma took both his hands in hers and replied, "Because I didn't fight for you the way you would have fought for me." Looking (even more) soulfully into her eyes, Killian intoned, "You have fought so hard for so long, Swan. My job is to never make you feel that way again." With that, he kissed her. And the rest is history.

(In less cliche terms, they had sex. Really hot sex).

**Preview for next chapter: **

__Rolling over in bed, Emma saw Killian's arm flung across the bed. She caught sight of the black, scrawling ink across his inner wrist and gasped….

**A/N: I hope that was good enough for the months-long break in between the two chapters! Hopefully the updates will be more regular now that school's over! As always, please review! :D **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: OH MY GOD YOU GUYS OVER 100 FOLLOWERS! In only three chapters, that's pretty amazing. Only three reviews on the last chapter though, but I suppose it wasn't terribly exciting. Anyway, I gave in to the urge to write a Merlin vic and that's why this is so late. **

**Dedicated to my best friend, without whose steadfast support (read: constant nagging), this fix probably would have been abandoned due to laziness ages ago. **

**Oh, and I also don't own OUAT. Just in case you wanted to know. **

Afterwards, they were both so emotionally (and physically) exhausted that they collectively trudged across the hall to Emma's room and fell asleep within minutes. By the time Emma awoke, there was sunlight streaming into the windows. Rolling over in bed, Emma saw Killian's arm flung across the bed. She caught sight of the black, scrawling ink across his inner wrist and gasped….instead of the name 'Milah,' which used to adorn Killian's wrist, there was the word 'Emma' emblazoned there, with the outline of a swan surrounding it. How could he have gotten a new tattoo without her realizing it? When had he removed the tattoo of Milah's name? _Killian has quite a few questions to answer when he wakes up_, Emma decided as she rolled over once more.

Meanwhile, the Golds had made good use of their bed earlier than Emma and Killian had the previous night, and were therefore able to wake up earlier in order to begin researching the strange mirror, poring over books and generally tearing apart the shop in order to find information about it. So far, even after hours of searching, they had found nothing about the elusive mirror, not even a possible name. The man Rumple had purchased the mirror from knew nothing of its magical properties; the Dark one had sensed the strong magic emanating from the object and purchased it with the intent to research it. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it), Belle's entrance into his life had driven all thoughts of the object completely from his mind.

However, now he wished he had been slightly more focused as he sent his beloved shop into disarray seeking a way to send Milah back to the past where she belonged, preferably before Belle lost her patience with the 'calm research' approach and resolved her issues with Rumple's ex-wife by throttling her for good measure. As Belle's frustration mounted at her inability to find information on the mirror, Rumplestiltskin worried that she was getting exponentially closer to the throttling option with every minute that passed. Just as he was sure that Belle was surely going to burst with the sheer _frustration_ of it all, she shrieked with excitement, pointing to a passage in a large, dusty tome, and began reading aloud at a ridiculously fast pace.

When she finished reciting the paragraph (about fifteen seconds after she had started), Gold realized that he hadn't actually recognized any words that she said, and thus asked her to repeat the information at a processable speed. She rolled her eyes playfully as though he had asked her to write the book, and recited once more: "The Mirror of Antid is designed to transport people to a different time, even to different worlds. The mirror can only be used at noon and midnight, as these are the two points in time during which the veil between the past, present, and future are at their thinnest, and time can be traversed without an output of magic from the user. However, the user cannot be transported through the mirror against their will (most likely for moral reasons). When the user steps through the mirror, they cannot control where they appear, to the best of our knowledge, but when they step back through, they will always return to the time and place from which they came. Very little else is known about the mirror, as the intentions of the mirror's creator, Antid, and the logic behind the transportation of the user are unknown."

As Belle panted, trying to recover her breath from the effort of reading the passage twice, practically without taking a breath, Rumple pondered the implications of not being able to simply _push_ Milah into the mirror and have his problem taken care of. He sighed, placing his hand on his forehead as he began scheming, attempting to formulate ways to get his ex-wife the _hell_ out of this time and into the mirror. (He was normally banned from scheming, but figured that under the circumstances, Belle would make an exception).

Just as he was beginning to find the correct evil-scheme-y mindset for the task at hand, Neal came barreling into the shop with a grin on his face, in hopes of attaining some of Belle's Storybrooke-renowned chocolate chip pancakes (no, really, she had been getting threatening looks from Granny for weeks because they were _that_ good). The grin promptly fell off his face as he took in the state of his father's shop. His joviality was further dampened by the sights of his father with the beginnings of a rather dangerous scheme on his face and his step-mother gripping a counter, panting for breath. _Well, they're both clothed, so there's that. _Sighing long-sufferingly, Neal ran a hand down his face and asked the the other occupants of the room had been expecting since the moment he had walked in the room: "What the _hell _is going on?!"

In response,Rumplestiltskin walked gravely up to his son, and putting his hand on Neal's shoulder, began, "Well, you see, son…"

Meanwhile, in a bedroom at Granny's, Milah paced around the room angrily, furious at having been locked up like a criminal (which, by definition of being a pirate, she technically _was_), or some sort of animal, by a woman about half her size. The door had been chained closed. Chained! Killian had actually paid a woman to _chain_ her inside a bedroom. Even the glass contraptions that showed the outside world were locked somehow.

She blamed that blonde trollop who Killian had been with the previous night; perhaps she had enchanted him into forgetting about Milah, his _true_ love. She couldn't very well save him from the inside of this room! With a sound of frustration, she went to try her luck with the glass invention once more. After fiddling with seemingly random knobs, she discovered that she could open the glass. She hoisted herself out the window with a smirk, and began scaling down the wall. Upon reaching the ground, Milah smirked and crossed her arms across her chest.

_Killian, I'm coming for you. _

**A/N: So, there it is, guys! The end of the fourth chapter! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Will it be hot? Will it be cold? Will it be wet? Will it be dry? Sorry, I need to curb my Merlin references. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and will leave a review! **

**Love, **

**ancientgreekfreak**

**P.S.- In case any of you were wondering the mirror's name, Antid, is Old English for 'time' because it's time travel. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: THANK YOU FOR ALL THE FAVES, FOLLOWS, AND REVIEWS! It honestly means so much to me! So, another chapter delayed by my Merlin fic- sorry! Anyway, review responses: **

**Firestar007, tate4eva, Starlight000, and KELS B: I'm so glad you are enjoying this story and I really hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

**Grace5231973: I'm extremely flattered that you continue to read the story for the plot! Gold and Belle discover Milah when she stumbled into their shop in the first chapter, and I'll definitely try to add a Belle-Milah confrontation! **

Killian awoke to see Emma staring at the ceiling, her face set in the unreadable expression she often adopted while contemplating matters, especially those pertaining to their relationship. Just what a bloke needed first thing in the morning, really. Suppressing a groan, he asked, "Is something the matter, love?" in his scratchy morning voice. Never one to hide from her problems (or able to deny Killian what he wanted when he used that particular tone- his scratchy voice was literally _too_ sexy), she replied, "The tattoo…the one on your wrist. It used to say Milah's name, now it says mine. What happened?"

Killian knew his tattoo would be caught at some point or another (frankly, he was surprised Emma hadn't seen it earlier- bloody observant, that one), but he had hoped that it wouldn't be quite so early in the morning when he was compelled to explain why the ink on his wrist had up and rearranged itself. He answered, "Well, you see, the thing about that, love, is…"

As he explained the magical origins of his tattoo, as well as the meaning behind the ink, Emma's facial expression gradually morphed from the unreadable expression she had adopted earlier into one of unfettered sentiment. Much to her horror, she could have sworn that she felt her bottom lip _quiver_. It wasn't that she had doubted the fact that Killian had loved her _before,_ but his revelation about the true nature of the tattoo had astounded her and solidified the faith that she had in their love; and _no,_ her eyes _not_ misting up with sentimental tears, it was just the lack of sleep catching up with her.

Because Killian was not privy to her innermost thoughts, he watched in horror as Emma's eyes brimmed with tears and rapidly began thinking of ways to comfort her. However, he was significantly less horrified when she leapt forward and practically attacked his lips with her own. Needless to say, they were quite a bit later getting out of bed than initially planned.

Meanwhile, Gold and Belle were dealing with an irate Neal, who, upon learning that his long-dead mother was roaming about the streets of Storybrooke, was recalling exactly why he had decided centuries ago that the fairytale life just wasn't for him. Barely refraining from smacking his head on the counter, he inquired, "Do you know where she might have gone, or where she could be now?" Rumplestiltskin contemplated his answer before replying, "She went down to the docks to look for our dear captain, but whether or not she actually got there, or how he dealt with her afterwards is anyone's guess."

Neal's facial expression morphed instantly from exasperation to horror, as he groaned, "Last night?" Mr. Gold shot his son a confused look, so Neal continued, "Killian was going to propose to Emma last night!" Belle let out a frustrated sound, while Gold gave his son a calculating look, trying to assess how at-peace Neal really was with the situation (he really couldn't fathom the fact that Neal wasn't carrying a century's-long grudge because Emma had chosen Killian). However, Neal and Emma had mutually decided that their relationship was a part of their life that they had set behind them, and they remained very close friends, as did Neal and Killian, much to everyone's surprise.

Belle decided that she had had quite enough drama within the span of the hour, and quite needed to leave the cluttered shop, where magic books were strewn everywhere. Belle moved her hands in a _stop speaking _gesture, and suggested, "Why don't we just go to Granny's and get some breakfast? We can call Emma and Killian and we can speak with them about our current _predicament_." Both father and son were willing to abandon the rather frustrating situation for the time being in pursuit of food (they were still male, after all, immortality be damned), so Belle called a rather disgruntled-sounding Emma, who agreed to meet them at Granny's in a quarter of an hour. Eager to leave the shop, the Golds arrived at the small diner, and had enough time to order and begin eating before the suspiciously disheveled figures of Emma and Killian were visible.

The pair slid into the booth across from the Belle, Rumple, and Neal, simultaneously ordering twin hot cocoas with cinnamon (Killian had quickly been inducted into the cinnamon cult along with the rest of the Charmings). The five quickly began debriefing one another, with Rumple and Belle first relating how Milah had ever so charmingly fallen out of a mirror and into their shop, demanding to see Killian and raving about the Jolly Roger being in port. Killian and Emma jumped in at that point, and related to the others the manner in which Milah had stormed onto the deck of the ship, demanding that Killian abandon Emma forthwith so that his apparent straying fidelity would be forgiven. As Killian finished relating a slightly edited tale about how he and Emma had brought Milah to Granny's (by mutual consent, the pair decided to leave out _certain details _of their evening from their account- and ignore the cries of "She's right here?!" coming from the other side of the table), Emma began patting down all of her pockets, as though she had forgotten something. Killian, concerned, turned around and asked, "What's wrong, love?" As she finished patting herself down frantically, Emma replied, "I forgot my phone at the apartment because we left in such a rush! What if David needs me for the station? I'll just have to run over and get it." She made to get out of the booth, but Killian put a comforting hand on her leg and reassured her that he would gladly retrieve her _cellular device_ (apparently they were still a novel enough discovery to warrant the inflection), as she could surely summarize the Gold's forthcoming information more efficiently than he ever could. Kissing him for his troubles, Emma turned back to face the others as Killian walked jauntily out of the shop.

Meanwhile, Milah had watched as her cowardly ex-husband exited his shop with the beautiful woman she had seen the previous day and a man who appeared to be in his late twenties, who seemed vaguely familiar. _Could it be…? _But she wasted no time pondering her son and the life she'd left behind as she darted into the shop. In his haste to be gone and secure in the knowledge that no one would attempt to break into his shop, Rumplestiltskin had left the store unlocked and his magic books scattered about. Milah picked one up and flipped through it, raising her eyebrows as she saw that it was a book clearly dedicated to magic. She scanned a few more books, before realizing that they were all dedicated to magic.

She walked cautiously up to a table which, unbeknownst to her, was full of Rumple's experiments. Near the front the table, a purplish-blue potion was bubbling, next to an open book full of potion recipes. The description of the potion read, "_One of the strongest, most volatile potions in the known realms, this potion is known to induce genuine love, rather than the strong obsession of most other potions. Not true love, of course, as this cannot be fabricated, but if made by a person with strong enough magic, even true love's kiss cannot break the hold of the potion on an individual entirely. Apply this potion to its intended target by placing it upon their eyelids, preferably while the subject is asleep." _

The potion looked exactly like the one in the diagram next to the list of convoluted ingredients and directions, so she grabbed the potion and, looking around for people in the streets of the strange town, ran back to the side alley near the establishment called "Granny's," where she hid by the side of the building for almost half an hour, plotting methods by which to sneak on the Jolly Roger without Killian's knowledge.

Suddenly, there was motion and the sound of a bell ringing as someone stepped out of Granny's. _It was Killian. _Whistling and walking along seemingly without a care in the world. Almost without thinking about it, she grabbed the nearest heavy object (it was a brick) and snuck up behind him. As he sensed her presence and made to turn around, she hit him on the back of the head with the brick, and he collapsed onto her, unconscious. Half-dragging his body into the alley beside Granny's, Milah laid him down and, crossing her fingers, placed the potion on his eyelids as the magic book had informed her to.

When Killian finally opened his eyes, they glowed enchanted red before settling into their usual ocean tones. 

**A/N: Sooo what'd ya thiiink? So, updates will probably be more sporadic as the school year starts, but REVIEWS always make me update faster! **

**Love, **

**ancientgreekfreak **

**(self-diagnosed review whore)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I'm…sorry? I LOVE YOU ALL! School has just been SO. HECTIC. But I promise I won't give up on this story - it will get done…eventually. But, ugh writing Gold as not evil is so hard now that he appears to have reverted back to evil on the show…I hope Killian gets his heart back soon! Anyway, time for the review responses! **

**Evilunicorn11: Yes, I try my best to portray Milah as evil and bitchy while keeping to the parameters of her character! **

**Lisa1972: I don't want him to fall in love with her either, but I'm glad you're emotionally invested :D **

**KELS B: Thank you for reviewing so many chapters! I really appreciate the support, and I hope you like this chapter!**

**Grace5231973: I'm sorry you encountered those of Hook's fans who had a negative response to Belle promos, but I assure you we're not all like that! I hope you enjoy the next chapter! **

**Anna (guest): Thank you for reviewing! I'm so glad you like the story so far 3**

**Starlight000: I'm glad I elicited an emotional response from you-hearing emotional reactions to my stories make me so happy! Enjoy this chapter! **

**Firestar007: Yeah, I know that it seemed like a bit of a leap that Killian would be knocked out by a brick, but his guard was down from not being attacked a lot lately. Captain floor forever! And thanks so much for your response to the story! **

**Ink and Death: I do this to the CS fans so that I can elicit an emotional response just like yours :P Enjoy the chapter dear! **

**tate4eva: Yup, a love potion :P And, no, thank ****_you_**** for reviewing, darling! **

**dreaming4infinity: I probably didn't update soon enough, sorry! But I hope you enjoy the chapter anyway! **

**(Guest): I would never leave at such a cliffhanger indefinitely! But thanks for urging me to get back to it, because otherwise you guys might have had to wait until Christmas!**

* * *

><p>After fifteen minutes without Killian's return, Emma was tapping her foot up and down impatiently, waiting for a leather-clad figure to appear with her cell phone. After half an hour had passed with a distinct lack of pirate, her whole body was vibrating with jitters that had nothing to do with the sugar she had just consumed. Even Belle and Gold were beginning to look concerned, and Gold had once beat Killian with a cane. As usual, it was Rumplestiltskin who broke the tense silence with his vitriolic sarcasm, as he commented, "It appears our dear captain has gotten lost on the way back from your apartment, dearie."<p>

Emma, who was too worried for a verbal sparring match merely rolled her eyes and thought about what may have waylaid Killian. Her apartment was only a few blocks away from Granny's (strategic locationing), and there wasn't really very much that could distract Killian when he was on a mission. She told herself she was probably just being silly; he had probably just met her dad on the way- the two of them got on like a house on fire now that her overprotective father had accepted the fact that Killian wasn't going anywhere. She was able to hold onto this feeble hope for about another two minutes, before David and Snow walked into the diner, definitively lacking in a leather-clad pirate.

A dreadful suspicion entered her mind, and without explaining to anyone, she hastened to Granny, who was standing by the counter, and asked in hushed tones, "Is Milah still in her room?" Granny gave her a slightly affronted look, and replied, "Of course, I chained her in there myself." Not about to be deterred by Granny's stern looks, Emma replied, "I need to see her for…official police business." Although Granny could tell that the blonde was most definitely lying through her teeth, she tilted her head in a _follow me_ motion, and led the way up to Milah's room. Emma sighed in relief when she saw that the chain on the door was still in place, however, when Granny unlocked the door, there was a conspicuous lack of Milah in the room, and the open window caused the curtains to wave in the breeze. Emma groaned.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Charmings were standing in the entryway to Granny's, looking rather flummoxed as they viewed their daughter running about the building. David caught his daughter by the shoulders as she was on her way out of the diner, and narrowly avoided laughing as he took in her mildly confused look as she realized she had stopped moving. Regaining his composure, he asked, "Emma, what on earth are you _doing_?"

She blinked owlishly at her father, disoriented, for a moment, before launching into a rushed explanation of the past twenty-four hours (deliberately leaving out some details that her parents _most certainly_ did not wish to hear). Charming ran his hands up and down her arms comfortingly, and reassured her that they would definitely find Killian, and that Milah's disappearance likely had nothing to do with the former pirate's. Under the calming influence of the prince's soothing bullshit words, Emma began breathing normally and regular cognitive processes resumed.

She led her family out of the diner in her search for Killian, and only David's well concealed (or so he hoped) worry stopped him from complaining about his lack of food. As she circled the building, Emma saw a brick laying out of place in front of the alley right under where Milah's room would have been. Squinting suspiciously and putting her hand on her holster, she crept down the dark stretch of road while her parents followed her, only to confronted by an empty alley.

However, all was not lost, as she saw skid marks that began close to directly beneath where Milah's room would have been. They were extremely faint, almost invisible on the black of the tar-covered road, but Emma was well-acquainted with finding that which did not want to be found. The marks ended at the end of the alley, where the darkness between the buildings met the light again. The marks had to have been made by shoes, based on the parallel sets of marks too close together to have been made by a car. _So, the victim either escaped or continued on of their own free will_, Emma mused, with a hand on her chin in contemplation. Her parents, who had also picked up on the sets of marks, gave her similarly thoughtful looks, as they had arrived at the same conclusion. Breaking the contemplative silence, Emma suggested that they split up; her parents would search in the direction of her apartment, and she would search in the direction of the docks. Emma knew that if it was actually Milah with Killian who had left the tracks, the only viable place for her to go would be the Jolly Roger. She was going to teach Milah the lesson that every flirty female in Storybooke learned sooner or later: _no-one _touched what belonged to Emma Swan.

Meanwhile, the Golds left the diner in a less dramatic fashion, heading back to Rumplestiltskin's shop to try and find a locator potion. The store had more or less been turned upside down from the search for answers about the mirror, and they couldn't very well use a locator potion to _find_ a locator potion, so they went about sorting through the mess the old fashioned way. After ten minutes, Neal suggested that his father use magic to clean up the shop, but was quickly reminded that flying magical objects was probably not the best of ideas.

In the search, Rumplestiltskin started going through a table full of his experiments, in case the locator potion had been placed there by mistake. While he was perusing the table, he noticed the empty potion holder which he could have _sworn_ had a vial in it when he'd left that morning. He surrounded the empty holder with his magic, so that he could ascertain who had last touched it. He recoiled sharply at the aura of _Milah_ the object reflected back at him. Panicking slightly, he looked for clues as to what the vial may have contained, as it had been a while since he had had the time or inclination to experiment with his more volatile potions. He spotted the book next to it, and began reading the very same passage that Milah had read a short time before, and, horrified, whirled around to face his family. Walking towards the front of his shop, (keys in hand this time), he proclaimed, "We have to catch up with Emma and they others-they have _no idea_ what they are dealing with." By the time he finished explaining, the entire family was wearing matching expressions of horror on all of their faces.

They were too late, however, as Emma had just reached the Jolly Roger after half-heartedly skimming the buildings on the way to the docks for signs of Milah or Killian, knowing that they would be onboard the ship. Praying she was right, she approached the vessel, and sighed a monumental sigh of relief as she caught sight of Killian standing on the deck in all his leather-clad glory. However, that relief instantly turned to dread as he caught sight of her and looked at her with an expression she'd never seen directed towards herself before. _Indifference. _

**A/N: IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you guys are on Tumblr, and you want some previews of future chapters before they're published (as it might be a while between chapters), follow me ancientgreekfreak and maybe message me saying that you are a **** reader so that I know how many of you there are. If I get more than 5, I'll start posting previews as soon as they're written. Anyway, so please tell me how you thought the chapter went, because more reviews = more updates!**

**Love, **

**ancientgreekfreak 3 **

**PS: Do ya'll want some Henry next chapter?!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry again for the super-long wait! Internal Assessment week in the IB came thiiis close to actually killing me from the stress. I promise I'll make it a New Year's Resolution to write more often. I posted a preview on Tumblr last week (?) but I'm not sure if any of you saw it…anyway, ONTO THE REVIEW RESPONSES (in which I will call you all pet names because I love you)!**

**Lisa1972: Thanks for an emotional response, darling! If that chapter elicited such a response, the next two chapters should be…fun… *Mr. Gold patent smirk* Enjoy!**

** .12979431: Thanks! Emma reclaiming Killian is definitely going to be a bumpy road, to say the least! Hope you enjoy the chapter, dear! **

**LucyTheMarauder: Thanks for following me on Tumblr, babe! I hope you saw the preview I posted and that you enjoy the chapter (which probably didn't come as soon as you hoped)!**

**KELS B: Thanks for reviewing every chapter I can remember! Your support means so much to me, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

**Grace5231973: I'm confused as to where the idea that Rumple has been sexually abused is coming from, but I can definitely assure you that he isn't going to be a villain at all in this story, as far as I can tell. I also think that Gold's love of his power and his addiction to it was what led to his relapse into his old ways, rather than any sense of revenge for Neal. PTSD could potentially be a part of it, but I don't think that the role of Emma's romantic partner has been Neal's since they were 18. At the risk of this getting too long, I'd like to thank you for your consistent support of this story, and I really hope you enjoy the next chapter, dearie!**

**Tate4eva: No, thank ****_you_**** for reviewing! I put in some Henry (not nearly enough I know), but I hope it's enough to tide you over until next time. Enjoy, dearling! (Get it, like dear+darling!) I'm sorry I'll go away now.**

Emma could not stop the gasp that escaped her lips when she saw the look in Killian's eyes. Killian Jones was a man of many emotions, and he had looked at her in many ways throughout the time they had known one another- with unfettered seduction, betrayal, disdain, and finally, love. He'd never looked at her with this expression of complete indifference, and she almost felt her heart break at the sight of it. After what seemed like an eternity to Emma, he asked, "What are you doing here, lass?"

Momentarily comforted by the affectionate nickname, she answered, "I was worried; you didn't come back to Granny's and it had been so long…" She was cut off by his confused look. "Why would you come looking for me?" he asked, as though he was genuinely baffled. Had his insecurities come to haunt him again? He had never believed he was good enough for her, and she thought she'd stamped out the sentiment, but perhaps not as well as she thought she had. Gearing up to give the speech she'd given what felt like a hundred times before, she reached out to place her hand on his shoulder, and began, "Killian, I-" but was cut off by him flinching away from her touch.

Now completely confused herself, Emma asked, suspicious, "Do you know who I am?" He regarded her stone-facedly and replied, "Of course I do. It's rather difficult to forget someone who tethered you in a giant's lair and left him there."

While the statement had always come with a teasing tone of voice in the past years whenever they chose to reminisce over their initial meeting, this time, his voice took on a matter-of-fact tone, as though all the emotion had been drained out of his memories.

Meanwhile, the Golds were rushing through town with the Charmings at their heels. Rumplestiltskin had attempted to deter them from coming along, but apparently Charming's "bromance" with the former pirate was just too much to abandon, and wherever Charming went, Snow would follow. And thus, the two couples and Neal were running down Main Street when they (almost literally) ran into Regina, who was taking Henry for breakfast at Granny's, whose was likely the richest woman in town due to the fact that no-one in Storybrooke seemed inclined to cook for themselves (unless it was to poison someone).

Regina raised a sardonic eyebrow, and queried, "And what great catastrophe are you all rushing off to heroically prevent?" Since all five of the people in question were comically out of breath from their (relatively) early-morning sprint, Charming took it upon himself to gesture vaguely in the direction of the docks, and panted, "Killian…Milah…potion…lost…"

At the mention of Milah's name, Henry squinted and shook his head, gesturing his hands as though to create a physical split in the conversation, and said, "Wait…isn't Milah dead, like as of three hundred years ago?" Neal answered his son, "Yes, we thought so, but apparently she traveled through time or something. She stole a potion from your grandpa which would make H-Killian believe that he's in love with her, and the enchantment can't be broken by even true love's kiss." As Neal explained Killian's predicament, he wondered why he hadn't just escaped to New York while he had the chance. Henry interrupted his sorrowful internal monologue to protest, "If Killian's in trouble, I'm going with you guys." His face took on the mask of determination that proved that he was, indeed, in possession of the heart of the Truest Believer, and Regina and the others instantly knew that they were either taking him voluntarily or he was going to follow them (likely getting into even more trouble along the way).

It was Charming who broke first, as he put his hand on Henry's shoulder and informed him on no uncertain terms that if their encounter with Milah got dangerous, he was to run away immediately, or his mother would magic him back home and no amount of puppy dog eyes would get him out of a solid two-week grounding. Regina expressed her support (especially at the mention of grounding), and the group carried on at a less frantic pace than before to accommodate Henry.

If Emma knew that her family was coming for her, she would have wished for them to hurry _the fuck up_, because she was ninety-nine percent certain that Killian was under some kind of love potion, or at least something similar in concept. She also knew that if Milah had been the one to administer the potion, then she would not be staying away from Killian for long. In fact, it was nothing short of a miracle that she wasn't here right now.

As though the fates had heard her thankfulness, she heard a single pair of footsteps resounding from the deck of the ship, and in a panic, sealed the door to the captain's quarters with magic. Instantly, she heard Milah pounding on the door, and shouting for "her' Killian. _As if_. However, Killian didn't seem to have gotten the memo, and tried to lunge for the door, a panicked expression on his face. He yelled, "You have to let me see her!" as he attempted to circumvent Emma. Surreptitiously using her magic to help keep him at bay, she hoped the spell on the door would hold and took a moment to ponder on what the _hell_ was going on.

Pushing down her inner Lost Girl, she remembered what Killian had told her only last night- that he loved her and her alone. _This has to be the work of a singularly strong love potion…the only surefire solution to a love potion is True Love's Kiss. Are we true loves? Should I even take the chance that I'm wrong? Wasting time, Swan, wasting time! _

Rather than continue fighting him for control, she used her desperation to fuel yet another spell (maintaining several spells at once was rather draining, especially for a relative amateur like Emma), and levitated a rather heavy paperweight behind his head. Ironically, it was a present Henry had gotten him for Father's Day, as a way of initiating him into the family. She managed to whisper, "I'm really sorry about this, Killian," and watched a look of confusion overtake his features before the object collided with the back of his head, and he fell to the floor, which Emma supposed he had been doing quite often recently. She might even be slightly jealous of it if she hadn't had more pressing issues to contend with at the moment. One of said issues was still banging frantically on the door, as the sound of multiple footsteps could be heard from the deck.

Charming led the group to the Jolly Roger, because he would pout if he wasn't in charge of _something_, but as soon as the group caught sight of Milah pounding on the door to Killian's room, Gold took the lead, and tried to reason with her, even imparting the completely new information that somehow, a True Love's Kiss could make matters even worse; the conflict between the spell's influence and the otherwise all-encompassing magic of true love would create a maddening battle inside one's mind, and could render the subject in a potentially permanent coma. But Milah just tossed her head and declared that it was fine, because there was no way that "the stupid blonde" (the Charmings nearly drew arms at that) could be Killian's true love, because _she was_. Belle, already irritated with the woman, and not one to waste time in any case, pushed her husband to the side, and punched Milah square in the face. As the woman toppled to the deck, Gold tested out the door, and removed the rather rudimentary sticking charm, already weakened from Emma's emotional turmoil, pushing open the door just as Emma's lips were hovering a hair's breadth from Killian's.

**A/N: Sorry, not as good a cliffhanger as I would have liked…Just wait, it'll be better next time. Much better. Maybe the best of the whole story… *evil chuckles* So, anyway, feel free to hit me up (figuratively, please) on Tumblr ancientgreekfreak! **

**Until next time, my loves!**

**Your review whore, **

**~ancientgreekfreak**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So we see how well that New Year's Resolution went. This chapter brought to you by my best friend (again) who is threatening and knows where I live and reads this. Oh well…HOW DID WE FEEL ABOUT THE PREMIER?! It was glorious and Snow and Charming were delightfully badass, and I'm sorry I'm incapable of real words right now- I'll just get right to the review responses. **

**Lisa 1972: Haha, just wait for the end of the chapter dear! Hope you enjoy it 3 **

**Tate4eva: Thank you for reviewing on pretty much every chapter my love, and I hope you do find this chapter interesting! **

**KELS B: You are such a darling for reviewing on almost every chapter dearling, and I hope you like the chapter! **

**Starlight000: Sorry not a ton of Belle this chapter, but I hope you like it anyway!**

**Guest: As would we all my dear, as would we all. **

**Grace5231973: Another familiar name in this lineup! I hope you enjoy the chapter (and I think you will relish the ending my darling)!**

**Firestar007: Another regular reviewer! Thank you so so much for your support and I hope you like the chapter!**

**Guest (#2): Thank you for reviewing and I hope you (wherever you aaaare) enjoy the chapter! **

**Esmerelda Diana Parker: Ah a new face I believe! Read on and I hope you enjoy the chapter, angelface! **

**Andria (guest): OH MY GOSH GOLLY GOODNESS you went back and reviewed every chapter- my eternal love is yours! **

At the sound of Gold's shout, Emma started so forcefully she nearly fell off the bed she had placed Killian on. Luckily, she did so in the direction opposite to Killian's face, and whipped her head to face the crowd of people before her. Somewhat relieved (but unwilling to show it), she asked, "What the _hell_ are you people doing here?" as though she didn't know that they were all on varying locations on the "concern" spectrum for the unconscious man lying on the bed. Emma was convinced that she had a rather badass veneer to maintain, after all, as she liked to pretend the whole town hadn't seen her and Hook "making eyes" at one another for years.

Gold, who had extensive experience dealing with Regina, and therefore with "badass veneers" as well, gave her threatening tone all the credence it deserved, and responded, "Well, dearie, it appears your pirate has more of a following than previously believed," as the rest of the group semi-brawled their way through the doorframe in an attempt to see Emma and Killian first.

In the end, it was Charming who out-fought his wife and grandson for the first glimpse of Killian, who was still lying inert on the bed, unaware of the chaos that surrounded him. Charming, for his part, looked one part devastated at the sight of his unconscious "mate," and one part contemplative as to whether or not a kiss from _him_ would break the curse. _A man's got to try, right?_

Fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), Charming was diverted from his mission by Gold's interjection, "You can't kiss him for this curse, Ms. Swan, regardless of whether or not you two are true loves. The magic of the curse causing him to be in love with Milah is simply incompatible with the magic a potential true love's kiss from you would provide. There's a very high probability that if you two did happen to be true loves, the two different kinds of magic would react and cause him to continue to be suspended in a coma due to the ensuing internal battle- one which no-one would win. This particular spell was created by Merlin, one of the only warlocks who could create an enchantment this powerful, and the potion was created by me, one of the only people with magic strong enough to replicate it." Everyone managed to contain their eye-rolls at Gold's surreptitious boasting, but only just. Even Belle, who was still coming off of her post-punching adrenaline high, was clutching a dresser in order to contain a smirk.

Emma, however, was not so amused as she struggled not to cling to the inert form of her fiancée, and asked, "So, what can I do, then, to break the spell?" hoping that there was something, _anything_, that would reverse the effects of the potion.

It was than that Snow noticed the diamond glittering on the platinum band around Emma's finger, and exclaimed, "Emma! You never told me he _proposed_!" then recoiled when she realized the impact the thoughtless comment would surely have. As predicted, the lines of Emma's mouth went hard as she replied, "He only proposed last night, and there's been a lot going on since then; I guess it just slipped my mind."

Charming tried to pretend that his heart didn't drop a bit at the news that Killian had proposed- Killian, (ever the traditional military man at heart) had asked his permission to propose at all, but Charming secretly feared that Killian wouldn't have enough time for their epic bromance after the wedding. Thus, he pouted for a moment, until Snow caught his eye and glared him into submission (she had disapproved of their friendship since they'd been hauled out of the woods, extremely drunk, with their underwear on their heads, but that's a story for another time).

In any case, it was Belle who cut into the heavy silence with, "From what we've read regarding the spell, the sheer strength of it, and the manner in which it takes possession of the heart…there is only one _permanent_ way to end the curse, and I think it's a bit more permanent than you're probably going for." Emma, who was far too emotionally strung out to even process Belle's delicate choice of wording, looked to Gold for clarification. Gold fixed her with a look as sympathetic as he was capable of, and replied, "Dearie, what she means to say is that the only way to well and truly break the spell…_is to crush his heart_."

Emma just blinked at her with wide eyes for a few moments, as everyone else in the room gasped, including Henry, whom the adults had almost forgotten was present due to his uncommon inaudibility. They all knew that Killian would rather die than remain under the power of a woman he no longer loved for the rest of his life, but none of them wanted to do the deed themselves. As they were all absorbing the Golds' information, Henry approached the bed upon which Killian was laying and gripped the pirate's collar, as if holding on stubbornly enough would keep him from going anywhere. Henry said tightly, "He was going to teach me how to sail, mom." Then, he promptly broke down in tears as Neal elbowed Regina out of the way to place a hand on his son's shoulder. Glaring at Neal, Regina bent down in front of Henry, and sighed as she began, "Well, there is _one_ way that Hook could possibly survive his heart being broken, but we would need Ms. Swan's active participation."

Immediately, Emma perked up from where she'd been trying to hide the tear tracks on her cheeks, and gave Regina a look that demanded more information. Regina continued, "I did it for Snow and Charming after Snow crushed her prince's heart to bring us back to this land after Pan's curse. Zelena took over the curse, but I had enough time to split Snow's heart and put the other half in Charming before we were swept away. _If_ you are sure that you and your pining pirate are true loves, your heart should be sufficient for the two of you." Snow interjected concernedly, "But, if you two aren't true loves…then you will both die, and Emma, you have to make sure that's a risk you want to take."

Emma looked determinedly at Killian and decided that if anyone was her true love, then it was the brave, reckless, sassy, _wonderful_ man lying before her. Adrenaline coursing through her veins, Emma stood up, and voice shaking imperceptibly, replied, "Yes, I'm ready." Regina moved to Killian's chest, assuming that, as per the usual, she was going to be the one to do the dirty, heart-crushing work around here, when Emma moved her arm aside, and said, "No, it has to be me. You just take my heart out and do what needs to be done, and take care of Henry for me if this doesn't go as planned."

Placing a kiss on Henry's forehead, she placed her right hand on Killian's chest for a moment before reaching her hand in and pulling out his heart. She observed the bright red heart, clear and luminescent as could be, faltering for a few seconds, before she crushed his heart, and crumpled to her knees with the emotional pain of it. Regina promptly knelt down and tore Emma's heart out as gently as possible, before wrenching it into two neat halves, the same way as she'd done for Emma's parents, and inserted one half into Emma, and the other half into Killian.

Everyone turned expectantly to Killian, but felt each felt their heart catch in their throat. _Because absolutely nothing happened. _

**A/N: So….review? Because that makes me update faster (believe me I could actually be slower)!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! Once again, I'm so so so sooooo sorry about the delay! I just finished my first semester of college, so it's been kind of hectic, and I didn't have much time to write. Today's chapter is kind of longer than normal to make up for it? There should be another chapter before the end of break, fingers crossed! **

**A/N: Tell me what ya'll thought, wasn't one of my favorites tbh? I don't know. ANYWAY: **

**Belovedbrat: I hope your heart has been fixed! **

**Polkie2: I appreciate the title, and wish I could update faster for you! **

**Lisa1972: But playing with Killian is so much fun! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

**Guest: I'm glad you had so many feelings! Thanks for reading!**

**Baibe: Thank you so, so incredibly much for your kind words! I only hope I can live up to your expectations for this chapter! **

**Kay1: I'm so glad you liked it and hope you enjoyed the most recent chapter! **

**Disneyfan4ever81: I'm afraid I didn't update soon, but hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway! **

**Grace5231973: I'm sure you loved the ending! What are your thoughts on the most recent season? **

**Pink Crane: As always, Captain Swan shall endure! **

**Firestar007: I hope you haven't died yet, and maybe instead of another chapter I'll do the spin off of Charming and Killian? Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**KELS B: A familiar username, I think? Thanks for consistently reviewing this story, all you guys motivate me to write!**

**ChloeGem: Thanks and I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

**Pearlydewdrop: Thanks! Sorry I took so long to update, hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Hey-dairy-queen, Cata Valletobi, IrishSwan, andiie12 (sorry guys there were so many reviews I couldn't do individual ones, definitely on the next chapter tho): I'm sorry to have left you all on a cliffhanger for so long! This one is definitely less brutal, I think. **

**On with the story! **

_Love is strange_, Emma contemplated in what might possibly be her last moments alive. _It can build you up so big you think you could fill up the world with just your happiness alone, then bring you crashing right back down in the blink of an eye- _and her internal monologue was interrupted by the stirring of her favorite (and only) pirate captain. Through her haze of delirious disbelief, she wondered if he might have at least let her finish her mental soliloquy.

Propping himself up on his arm, Killian groaned as he clutched his head with his other hand. Disoriented, he looked around and saw the better part of Storybrooke's residents gathered around his bedside. "What the bloody-" he started, as Emma caressed his face and tried to convince herself that Killian was still alive. The tension started to drain slowly out of the room as it became evident that the former pirate captain appeared to be relatively unscathed, despite having been dead for all intents and purposes only a few moments prior. Fortunately, this happened relatively frequently in Storybrooke, and thus, no-one questioned it.

Of course, because the entire town seemed to 'attract dramatic moments like moths to a freaking bonfire' (in the words of everyone's favorite blonde sheriff), Milah chose this exact moment to recover from Belle's exquisitely placed sucker-punch, and stumbled from the floor outside the captain's quarters, opening the door to stagger inside. She was, of course, confronted by a room full of people who were glaring at her with open hostility. As she didn't actually know any of them (besides her cowardly ex-husband and his little _girlfriend_), she rushed to the side of the bed where her Killian was stirring. Before she could quite get there, however, she was confronted by a sword in front of her neck. Holding it was a tall blonde man in a fitted leather jacket, who she was completely certain she'd never seen before.

Careful not to move her neck, Milah gritted out, "And who _exactly _do you think you are?" Charming, who had contended with villains in possession of quite a bit more flair than Milah, merely rolled his eyes and responded, "I'm Killian's best mate _and_ his future father in law; I think the real question here is who you think _you_ are." Straightening her shoulders in an attempt to keep the blade a decent distance from her neck, Milah retorted, "I happen to be Killian's True Love, so I'd suggest that you get your sword away from my neck before he makes you."

Killian took this extremely fortuitous queue to pass out again, causing a distressed Emma to begin fussing over him, while Henry, Regina, Robin, Snow, and Neal shuffled awkwardly, seemingly forgotten in the whirlwind of chaos swirling around them. _The captain's quarters are in no way big enough for this_, they collectively decided.

Meanwhile, Charming, never one to give up a chance to defend Killian's honor, spit out, "And that's why he and my daughter are currently sharing a heart? You-" He was cut off by the sight of his one true love falling back to the bed in a faint, and was immediately torn between rushing to his aid and keeping the sword at Milah's throat.

Apparently having decided that Milah was the bigger threat, Charming transferred his sword to his left hand so that he could lean in closer to attempt to see Killian, but Emma, who was, by this point, both intensely frustrated and feeling the result of her sleep depravation, shooed everyone away from Killian's bed with wide, sweeping motions of her arms. She leaned her head in closer to his chest, and after ascertaining that her fiancée was still breathing and his (well, their) heart still beating, turned to Gold and asked what seemed to be the question of the day: "What's wrong with Killian?" She elaborated, "His heart was working fine, he should be _okay_, what could be making him like this?"

Gold had seen many frightening things in his lifetime, but the sight of Emma with her eyes widened with a mix of fury and fear, hands clutching the man she loved so tightly that her knuckles were white, almost caused him to take a step back. He knew that if her emotions were allowed to spiral out of control, her magic would react accordingly and lash out in ways he _really did not want to find out about. _Putting his hands out in a calming motion, Rumple waved his arm over Killian's prone form, magic visibly rippling over him as the Dark One tried to ascertain the origin of Killian's continued malady.

Wrinkling his brow at the impossibility of his finding, he tried again, forcing the magic back through Killian's body. Upon finding the results to be the same as his initial trial, Gold turned to Emma and revealed, "Some of magic hasn't left his body yet, but I don't know how, it should have been impossible. It's still wreaking havoc in his system from seeing Milah, but he'll probably be around shortly. She needs to be out of here by the time he wakes up, or he'll just fall right back into unconsciousness." Emma somehow found the strength the crush Killian's hand harder, and said fiercely, "Then let's just find a way to get rid of her, or at least keep her away from Killian until we can figure out how to get her back to her time."

Rumple sighed and continued, "If only it were that easy, then we wouldn't have a problem. But, the spell will continue to work in his system, and holds the potential to strengthen with time. In future, he might not be able to even think about her, or anything in relation to her, without setting off the spell and fainting. In all likelihood, the spell will reach his heart again, and pulling your heart into quarters? Not something either of you are likely to survive." Emma once again resisted the urge to burst into hysterical sobs, refusing to let her emotions conquer her before the day was out. Instead, she asked, "Is there any way I can go directly to Merlin and get him to remove the curse? Since he's the one who created it, he should have some sort of cure or something, right?" At that, Regina cut in, holding her hands up as an almost physical barrier between her and the sheer insanity occurring within a five-foot radius of Emma.

In her most sardonic tone, she asked, "Even if by some chance, Merlin was brought here with one of the curses, how would we know that he'd even be willing to help? Old magicians are notoriously difficult to deal with, and we probably don't even have anything he wants. So, just how do you intend to deal with him?"

Emma, not in the mood to be deterred by anyone, let alone Regina of all people, merely responded, "I've gotten by well enough with you and Gold, so I think I'll manage. Besides, there's a chance he might not even want anything in return for his help. You said yourself, there's nothing he could possibly want that we have, but that's true of so many people. In the legends he helped Arthur just because it was the right thing to do, so maybe he'll do the same for us!" Gold tampered her enthusiasm with a facial expression which denoted that he was refraining from banging his head on the wall with the force of sheer willpower alone. However, Gold and his lack of faith in her could shove it where the sun didn't shine as far as Emma was concerned, because Killian was her pirate, dammit, and she was sick and fucking tired of people trying to take him away from her.

The man himself began stirring in bed, and sat up, clutching his head once again, this time grouchy from having been unconscious for the better part of this day. Charming took the opportunity to hustle Milah out of the room so that Killian wouldn't be able to catch a glimpse of her and faint (again). Emma helped Killian sit up, using the last reserves of her forced calm to gently explain what had happened to him. When she told him about how she found him on his ship, completely indifferent to her, he took both her hands and rubbed slow, soothing circles over them. The tension began to slip out of her shoulders, and the fake smile she had plastered to her face for his benefit slowly slipped into a real one.

Apparently done with giving Emma and Killian their moment, Henry launched himself at Killian, narrowly avoiding knocking Emma over. He took over the storytelling, gleefully recounting how Belle had knocked Milah to the deck. Emma flinched, hoping that Killian wouldn't pass out, but he merely raised a laudatory eyebrow at Belle, and allowed Henry to continue rocketing through the story. At last, Henry told the former pirate that he and Emma were now sharing a heart, along with a lighthearted comment about how he'd scared them, masking how afraid he'd actually been at the idea of losing his soon-to-be stepfather. Pulling Henry to him with one arm, Killian directed a lascivious smirk at Emma, and in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere of the room, said, "Well, I suppose you're stuck with me now, love."

Emma narrowly avoided launching herself lips first at her new fiancée, remembering that there was a mission to accomplish, and her son was practically in the man's lap. Not to mention that approximately half the town was crammed into Killian's bedroom, and they would surely all get an _eyeful_ if Emma was to have her way at that moment. She put a hand on Killian's upper arm to get his attention, and narrated the rest of the tale, including her plan to enlist Merlin to help them.

Just as she dreaded (and expected), the first words out of his mouth were "I'm coming with you." He cut off her protests about how he might get worse and wasn't strong enough to take on _Merlin_ if it did come to a fight by saying, "Sorry Swan, but I'm not going to let you risk your life to save me without me going with you. I know I can't stop you, so at least allow me this." Deep down, Emma always knew she would cave in, so she reluctantly nodded and turned back to Gold and Regina, asking what some might view as a vital question, "How do we find Merlin? Is there a locator spell or, like, an app? Something that will tell us if he's even in this realm?"

Shaking his head at the foolishness of it all, Gold supplied, "I have a hat that was taken from Merlin's apprentice, and by extension, belonged to Merlin himself. With the right spell, I could get it to track it back to its original owner. I'll call you when it's ready" He walked out of the shop, followed by Belle. Emma only hoped that her father had moved Milah further than the deck for the sake of avoiding one more confrontation that day.

Killian and Emma looked at Henry, who was still burrowed in Killian's leather jacket. Turning to Regina, Snow, and Neal, Emma requested, "Look after him for me?" After they responded in the affirmative almost immediately, Emma tried to get Henry to go to his two other parents, or his grandmother, but he clung to Killian's jacket more tightly and demanded to be taken along. Emma prepared to deny him his request, and for the inevitable fight that would follow, but with a lazy wave of her hand, Regina sent him to his room in her mansion, putting him to sleep in his bed so he wouldn't even be awake as Emma and the formerly one-handed wonder left town.

Rolling her eyes, Emma helped Killian to his feet as her phone started buzzing. The five of them exited the ship while Killian surreptitiously looked around for Charming, who was nowhere to be found. The pair of them said their goodbyes to Regina, Neal, and Snow, then threw together a few days' worth of clothes at Emma's apartment before driving to the pawnshop. It seemed that luck was on her side, as the hat had immediately began glowing, indicating that Merlin was, in fact, in this realm. Having been reasonably well-versed in locator spells herself, she understood that she should just go wherever they glowy object told her to. It was a fairly simple art, really. And thus, with very little heroic fanfare, they took the hat and were gone.

What Emma hadn't anticipated, of course, was that Merlin apparently lived in fucking _Michigan_, which was a whopping sixteen hours away. Killian, used to the wide openness of his ship, was an absolute nightmare in her "rattling death trap," and nearly drove Emma crazy with his insistence on playing Punch buggy of all things.

Needless to say, when they reached a small house by Lake Huron, she literally could not have been more grateful. She loved the man, but goodness, car trips with him were literal torture. She knocked on the door to the house, stowing the hat behind her back as a young man with wide gray eyes and dark, tousled hair opened the door. Waving, Killian greeted, "Hello, mate! We're looking for an elderly gentleman, perhaps goes by the name of Merlin?" As the man opened his mouth, Emma added, "Rumpelstiltskin sent us."

His eyes flashing gold, the man in the doorway yelled, "_LEAVE before I kill you where you stand!" _

**A/N: Tell me what ya'll thought, wasn't one of my favorites tbh? I don't know. Thank you, again, to all of you who reviewed, favorited, and followed. It means so much to me! Maybe I can get another chapter out before break ends?**

**Love, **

** ancientgreekfreak**


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